Section Two: Response to RLLSC Standards

Category A: Program Design

Standard 6: Program Design, Rationale, and Coordination

The design of the program follows an explicit statement of program philosophy and purpose. It begins at the level of the Reading and Literacy Added Authorization and prepares the candidate for more advanced learning in the Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential program, described in Standards 6 through 10.

The Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential Program at California State University, Fresno includes a purposeful, developmentally-designed sequence of coursework and field experiences that effectively prepares candidates to lead the development and implementation of comprehensive literacy programs at classroom, school, district, county and state levels to ensure equitable opportunity and achievement for California’s diverse PK-12 student population.  The purpose of the program is to prepare candidates with a strong theoretical foundation on literacy development, assessment and instruction, coupled with the capacity to apply this knowledge in serving as effective literacy leaders capable of mentoring colleagues, evaluating literacy programs, and advocating for effective programs that support student learning (See Student Outcomes Assessment Plan, p. 1).

The program is designed to build upon the foundational knowledge, skills and competencies developed in the Reading and Literacy Added Authorization program. The sequence of course/fieldwork for the California State University, Fresno Reading & Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential program includes the following:

Courses	Units
SEMESTER 1
LEE 213 Teaching the Language Arts K-12	3
LEE 278 Literacy Processes & Practices	3
SEMESTER 2
LEE 215 Language Issues in Reading	3
LEE 224 Assessment & Development of Reading Abilities	3
SEMESTER 3
LEE 230 Supervised Teaching of Reading/Language Arts	3
LEE 244 Research for Reading Professionals	3
SEMESTER 4
LEE 234 Clinical Experiences in Reading Assessment & Instruction	3
LEE 254 Supervised Field Experiences for Literacy Leadership	3
Total Units for Reading & Literacy Leadership Specialist Credential	24

The program provides multiple opportunities for candidates to learn and demonstrate the skills required by Standard 10 in Category C: Assessment of Candidate Competence. It includes a planned process of comprehensive course work, field experiences and candidate assessments that prepares candidates to teach all of California’s diverse learners and to be literacy leaders in their school, district, and community.

The program provides multiple opportunities for candidates to develop and demonstrate advanced knowledge on literacy development, assessment and instruction necessary to teach California’s diverse learners. The program is systematically structured to combine course work and field experiences that scaffold candidates’ increasing competence toward meeting the expected program learning outcomes. The program provides candidates with opportunities to evaluate research and integrate the research in instructional contexts. Courses in the beginning of the program are designed to provide candidates with a deep exploration of the research on effective instructional practices for developing phonological and linguistic processes related to reading, oral language, reading comprehension, and written language and the implications of this research for language acquisition and literacy development of English Learners (See Course Descriptions LEE 213: Teaching the Language Arts K-12, p.1; LEE 278: Reading Processes & Practices, p.1; LEE 215: Language Issues in Reading, p. 7).  Course assignments provide candidates opportunities to apply this research in developing and implementing instructional lessons. For example, in LEE 213: Teaching the Language Arts K-12 candidates are required to complete a Theory to Practice project. Candidates review and evaluate research on a literacy topic of interest and use this inquiry to develop and implement instructional lessons in the field (See LEE 213: Teaching the Language Arts K-12, p.3). Candidates are provided similar opportunities in LEE 215: Language Issues in Reading, in which the field experiences emphasize applying research-based instructional strategies with linguistically diverse students (See LEE 215: Language Issues in Reading, p. 4).

As candidates progress through the program, advanced courses are designed to provide candidates with a deeper understanding of research methods and design features as tools for analyzing, critiquing, and interpreting literacy research results (See Course Description LEE 244: Research for Reading Professionals, p. 1).  Candidates analyze research on the psychometric properties and uses for particular formal and informal assessment tools and research on intervention strategies to address specific literacy needs (See Course Description LEE 224: Assessment & Development of Reading Abilities, p.1). In addition, advanced courses provide candidates with specific examination of the research on adult learning theory and the implications the research holds for delivering professional development in future roles as literacy leaders (See Course Description LEE 254: Supervised Field Experiences in Reading, p.1).

Candidates are provided multiple opportunities to develop and demonstrate their competence in applying current reliable research while working with students and teachers.  Field-based assignments and clinical experiences provide candidates opportunities to demonstrate their competence in using assessment and differentiation research to provide specialized instruction to meet the specific needs of culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse students across the PK-12 spectrum.  In LEE 224: Assessment & Development of Reading Abilities candidates are guided through the process of learning how to select, administer, and analyze appropriate assessments to determine students’ instructional needs and develop an intervention plan to accelerate successful entry into grade level standards-based programs (See LEE 224: Assessment & Development of Reading Abilities, p. 3-4). Supervised clinical experiences are provided to extend the independent practice of this process, as candidates design and deliver instructional lessons to linguistically and culturally diverse students at both early (PreK-3) and intermediate (4th grade and up) levels of literacy acquisition. Small-group intervention and individual intensive intervention instructional settings are used to develop and assess candidates’ proficiency in implementing and adapting culturally responsive curricula and instructional strategies to meet students’ specific literacy needs (See LEE 230: Supervised Teaching of Reading/Language Arts, p. 4; LEE 234: Clinical Experiences in Reading Assessment & Instruction, p.4).

In addition, candidates are provided multiple opportunities to develop and demonstrate their competence in working with other educators to facilitate the implementation of state-and/or district-adopted literacy curricula at classroom and school levels. Throughout the field experience courses, seminar sessions are structured to provide space for reflective conversations and supportive feedback on selecting curriculum materials and adapting instructional strategies (See LEE 230: Supervised Teaching of Reading/Language Arts, p. 4; LEE 234: Clinical Experiences in Reading Assessment & Instruction, p.4; LEE 254: Supervised Field Experiences in Reading, p.3). In LEE 254: Supervised Field Experiences in Reading, these facilitation skills are further refined and mastered through a semester-long continuous school-based peer mentoring experience. Candidates mentor a grade-level team of colleagues and/or an individual teacher in the implementation of adopted curricula and standards (See LEE 254: Supervised Field Experiences in Reading, p.3).

The program addresses the processes of admission, advising, program evaluation and improvement, as well as its coordination and communication with the PreK-12 public schools for field experiences.

The Coordinator of the Reading Language Arts Program is responsible for overseeing the Reading and Literacy Leadership Specialist program. The Coordinator is recommended by the program faculty and appointed by the Dean of the School of Education. The Coordinator reports directly to the Chair of the Literacy, Early, Bilingual & Special Education Department and to the Dean of the Kremen School of Education and Human Development by way of the Dean's Coordinating Council.  Responsibilities of this position include reviewing applicant files to determine admission into the program, advising students and monitoring their progress in the program, conducting program review, and communicating with PreK-12 school leaders regarding recruitment and field experiences. Department and Reading/Language Arts program meetings are held each month to maintain continuous ongoing program review. The Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the collection of assessment data with the assistance of program faculty each semester. The Program Coordinator is responsible for summarizing the data each semester. Near the end of each spring semester, a program meeting is dedicated to reviewing assessment results, determining what changes, if any, the results suggest, and adjusting the next year’s course work, fieldwork and/or assessment activities as needed. The minutes of this meeting is provided as the basis for the department chair’s annual report on assessment activities (See Student Outcomes Assessment Plan, p. 7).

Back to Top